Whether you do have an account or not, this is certainly a smart scam: those who stream shows and movies every day will panic and click on the link in order to supposedly verify their identity. Anyone not using Netflix will be rightly troubled by the notion that someone else could be setting up an account in their name.

Of course, variations on the theme persist. You might not have received an email about suspending your account, but you may have got one about validating credit card information or other problems with your membership.

iTunes Scam

As we’ve established, you don’t need a Netflix subscription to be scammed. Just the threat/ promise of an account can cause victims to lose their minds and click on a link that’ll gobble up data. This email’s more specific than the previous spam message which wanted PII and payment details.

You might’ve heard this being called the “Netflix 1S Plan Scam” because this is the name of the subscription the recipient is supposed to have bought. It’s nonsense, of course. It’s to make you hurriedly click on the link which reads “You can cancel a Subscription at any time: Cancel / Refund Subscriptions.”

You might be on the back foot because this isn’t from Netflix. It looks like it’s from iTunes. And it really does look genuine. The logo’s there, there’s a receipt order number, and the email address (“ID” followed by lots of numbers) is generally topped off with “ssl.apple.com”.

This scam’s been doing the rounds for about a year now, albeit with different iterations. One even details the movies you’re purported to have streamed, though as the images are skewed, it doesn’t look so authentic. The latest version, however, is the most realistic yet and will make you do a double-take.

What to Do

Stay sceptical. It always helps. Whenever you get an email from a dubious addressHow to Spot a Phishing EmailHow to Spot a Phishing EmailCatching a phishing email is tough! Scammers pose as PayPal or Amazon, trying to steal your password and credit card information, are their deception is almost perfect. We show you how to spot the fraud.Read More, remember it’s potentially a scam. Approach it as if cybercriminals are lurking over your shoulder, rubbing their hands together in anticipation and glee.

They also know how much their services cost; pricing mistakes are a sure-fire way of spotting when an email’s fraudulent. I received the latter email, supposedly from iTunes, and nearly fell for it in a fit of panic. Fortunately, I noticed that the billing amount was wrong. For some reason, scammers are using incorrect totals, ranging from around £20 to £35.99, for a single month (these figures were tailored for me, a U.K.-based writer — the scammers will tailor their hacks for you wherever you are).

50% of Netflix users watch an entire season of a TV show in just one week.

That’s why, even if you don’t use Netflix, it’s a good idea to know how much it costs. There are no set-up costs — in fact, that first month is free. There are three streaming alternatives: Basic ($8/ £5.99 a month); Standard ($10/ £7.49); and Premium ($12/ £8.99); while other prices are offered to make use of their DVD/ Blu-ray services, ranging up to $20.

That’s solid advice too for whenever you receive a message purporting to be from Netflix or iTunes: don’t click on any links. Instead, open up a separate session and sign into your account from there. Netflix does its best to track down scam emails, so forward any to phishing@netflix.com, including header information.

Fraud & Chill?

Apple has further warned:

Email messages that contain attachments or links to non-Apple websites are from sources other than Apple, although they may appear to be from the iTunes Store. Most often, these attachments are malicious and should not be opened. You should never enter your Apple account information on any non-Apple website.

When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything.